Nemai Ghosh, (1914-88) Bengali and Tamil director/cameraman. Born in Calcutta. Assistant to Bibhuti Das at the Aurora Studio (1932); resigned following a trade union dispute. For several years involved with a cine-technicians’ union. Member of the Calcutta Film Society from the outset (1943) and was considered by Ray as his first-choice cameraman for Pather Panchali (1955). Member of the IPTA, acting in its seminal play Nabanna. First film: Chinnamul, a classic of IPTA-inspired socialist realism, admiringly reviewed by Pudovkin in Pravda (1951). Moved to Madras (1951) where he worked as cameraman on Tamil and Kannada films, e.g. G.V. Iyer’s Hamsa Geethe (1975). Key member of a Marxist collective, the Kumari Films Co-op, which produced Padhai Theriyudu Paar. Also made documentaries, e.g. Light and Candle and Mysore University. Vice-President of the Federation of Film Societies for several years and a Naxalite sympathiser in the 70s.

FILMOGRAPHY: 1950: Chinnamul; 1960: Padhai Theriyudu Paar; 1981: Sooravalli

Director

Camera